FILE PHOTO 19SEP91 - Former Vietnamese foreign minister Nguyen Co Thach who died early on Friday at the age of 75 after a long illness. As foreign minister in the 1980s, the urbane Thach, a fluent speaker of English and French, helped show the world a more liberal side to Vietnam's dour communists. Thach is shown in this September 19, 1991 file picture at the National Assemby in Hanoi.

FILE PHOTO 19SEP91 - Former Vietnamese foreign minister Nguyen Co Thach who died early on Friday at the age of 75 after a long illness. As foreign minister in the 1980s, the urbane Thach, a fluent speaker of English and French, helped show the world a more liberal side to Vietnam's dour communists. Thach is shown in this September 19, 1991 file picture at the National Assemby in Hanoi.